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Welcome to Android Advice and Tutorials.
According to LG they have began rolling out the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update to all Optimus devices starting with the Optimus X2. It looks like the start of the OTA (over the air) rollout will be be the X2 in Europe. The Gingerbread update will be staggered as always and since the update will be for all Optimus devices we can assume it will be a long term rollout.
The update started yesterday with the Optimus 3D update starting November 21st according to LG’s Facebook page. The Optimus Black is also said to start rolling out November 28th after the 3D. Some users have stated that they haven’t received the update OTA or manually yet so be patient and it will get to you in the coming days.
With LG recently promising an update to Ice Cream Sandwich users of the device shouldn’t get too comfortable with the Gingerbread OS since we would guess Q1 next year there will be the new update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. At any event let us know how the update goes and when you get it.
LG Officially Announced the Optimus 2X will Get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
The rumors have been flying around that the LG Optimus 2X will not get Ice Cream Sandwich. LG has confirmed officially on Facebook that the Optimus 2X will be receiving the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update and that the rumors are false.
There is no estimated release date of the update and we don’t forsee it this year although we now know it will come. LG has promised that they will release more detailed information shortly about the Android 4.0 update. As we get more information from LG we will let you all know.
Many users of the LG Optimus 2X have been asking if they will get the much anticipated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. The answer is no it will not. This being said all of us that are part of the Android world know that the LG Optimus 2X will likely see the Android 4.0 update but in the form of a custom ROM like CyanogenMod.
Its too early to make it official but a question asked on LG’s Facebook page was answered, and I quote:
“We will not be introducing Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich updates on LG Optimus 2X P990. Keep watching this space for further updates”.
All those that own the Optimus 2X can do now is hold out for someone in the community to port the new Android OS to the device which should not take long.
Sprint announced today that the LG Optimus has started receiving the OTA (over the air) Android 2.3 Gingerbread update today. This maintenance release will be released in waves so if you haven’t seen it yet you will shortly. Some users have reported that they aren’t getting the OTA update notification but when manually checking through settings it finds it.
LG Optimus S™ from Sprint will receive the Android 2.3, Gingerbread, update through an over-the-air maintenance release beginning today, September 14, 2011.
Beginning today, Sprint will send update notifications to users in waves. The notification will let users know the update is available and provide the simple two-step, over-the-air download instructions.
- Users will receive a notification that Android 2.3 is available for download.
- Once the user has downloaded the update, they will be prompted to install the update. The user will be notified that their device will be disabled during the installation process. The phone will be ready to use once the process completes.
The LG Optimus S Gingerbread update includes:
- New on-screen keyboard. The standard keyboard has been greatly improved with faster input and more intuitive typing. The cut-and-paste feature has also been improved.
- Streamlined user interface. New color schemes and various UI changes make Android more consistent and simpler to use.
- Application and power management. Android 2.3 provides better insight into what is running in the background and the amount of memory and CPU time it is using. A task killer has been added.
- Download management. All downloads from the browser, email and other apps can now be viewed and controlled from a single location.
- General enhancements for performance improvements.
The software release upgrades LG Optimus S to Android 2.3, Gingerbread. This version of Android improves download management through the Downloads application, offering the user easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email or another application.
VIA: Sprint Community
LG is supposed to unveil its new game conversion engine at IFA 2011 in Berlin next week. The conversion engine is an OpenGL based 2D to 3D conversion. LG is attempting to help expand the amount of 3D games for devices like their Optimus 3D. This engine will be the first of its kind in the world for smartphone’s.
LG’s new 3d game engine will be released as a Maintenance Release first for the Optimus 3D starting in October. We don’t have a date for everyone because it will depend on your carrier as to when you get this. LG also states that the converter will allow developers to optimize their 2D games to 3D without the need of development.
The converter will allow people to play 2D games in 3D without paying any extra. You can also easily switch back to 2D by turning of the converter. After IFA 2011 i’m sure we will have more information for you all.


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|By Maureen O'Gara||
|December 27, 2012 04:00 AM EST||
Apple late Monday lost its bid to get a permanent injunction barring 26 of Samsung's Android-based widgets that a jury found infringed six of Apple's patents from the American market.
Concurrently, the court threw out Samsung's bid for a new trial.
The Korean company claimed the jury, which awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages, was misled by a foreman that 20 years ago was involved in a lawsuit with Seagate, his former employer and a company Samsung later bought into. The suit drove him into bankruptcy and he supposedly introduced "incorrect and extraneous legal standards" into the jury's deliberations that may have produced a faulty verdict.
The judge didn't buy it. Samsung should have asked better questions during voir dire, she said.
FOSS Patents says without the injunction the "jury verdict has little more than symbolic value."
Apple is bound to appeal the decision claiming the bar it was supposed to clear was set too high in the judge's application of the legal principle known as causal nexus, a requirement for an injunction, and a rather new development in American case law.
In her decision she followed Federal Circuit's prior Apple-Samsung rulings, and, as FOSS Patents points out, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit looks kind of like it may yield to Apple's request for an en banc rehearing of the toppling of the Galaxy Nexus injunction and the causal nexus issue will be the central legal question in that case.
Anyway, US District Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's motion in its entirety.
FOSS Patents says, "It may be unprecedented in the legal history of the United States for an injunction motion to be denied across-the-board despite such a large number of infringement findings (roughly half a dozen) by a jury and, especially, in light of the competitive situation between the two as well as the jury's findings of willful infringement. If no injunction is ordered in such a case, it is hard to see how any patent holder could ever prevail on such a motion, and I doubt that this is what the appeals court will consider the right outcome. But the appeal will take a year or more, and in the meantime, this is a huge defensive success for Samsung's lawyers."
Judge Koh has yet to decide if the giant award will stand. Samsung wants the amount cut by at least $600 million because the verdict form wasn't discrete enough for its tastes. Apple wants it increased by $536 million for willfulness, which Samsung denies.
As to the all-important injunction that Apple wanted Judge Koh found that Apple didn't establish that popular demand for the Samsung products was specifically driven by the technology it lifted from Apple as opposed to its sheer competitiveness.
"Customer demand for a general feature of the type covered by a patent was not sufficient; Apple must instead show that consumers buy the infringing product specifically because it is equipped with the patented feature," she said.
"The fact that Apple may have lost customers and downstream sales to Samsung is not enough to justify an injunction," she ruled. "Apple must have lost these sales because Samsung infringed Apple's patents. Apple has simply not been able to make this showing."
She didn't think that Apple was that harmed. Blatant evidence that Samsung stole from Apple didn't seem to matter.
"Though evidence that Samsung attempted to copy certain Apple features may offer some limited support for Apple's theory, it does not establish that those features actually drove consumer demand," she said.
According to her "Samsung may have cut into Apple's customer base somewhat, but there is no suggestion that Samsung will wipe out Apple's customer base, or force Apple out of the business of making smartphones."
Koh also said the public interest wouldn't be served by banning products only parts of which infringed.
Meanwhile, the fact that Apple licensed its utility patents at issue in agreements with Nokia, IBM and HTC left Judge Koh with the impression that monetary compensation is sufficient. She did not deal with the anti-cloning provision in the HTC deal, the only agreement whose terms have even been hinted at.
Only three of the 26 products are still being sold, the others having been retired on account of age. Apple won't have a chance to go after current Samsung products until a second infringement suit goes to trial in March of 2014. An injunction at this point would have given it more leverage in the next case.
Apple wouldn't comment on Koh's decision. Samsung said it would review the court's finding before deciding whether to take "further measures."
IDC says Samsung's share of the smartphone market was 31% in the third quarter, up from 23% a year earlier. Apple was in second place with a market share of 15%, up from 14% a year earlier.
Apple reckons Samsung moved into the US market with infringing products just when consumers were moving to smartphones and developing "platform loyalty." It cut Apple off from its organic market.
IDC also figures that Google's Android operating system has a worldwide market share of 68.3% compared with 18.8% for Apple's and estimates Apple will remain the "clear number two platform behind Android" through 2016, gaining a mere 0.3% of the worldwide market by then.
"A lot of times people will come to us and have a very diverse set of requirements or very customized need and we'll help them to implement it in a fashion that you can't just buy off of the shelf," explained Nick Rose, CTO of Enzu, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Jan. 16, 2017 06:30 AM EST Reads: 4,473
WebRTC sits at the intersection between VoIP and the Web. As such, it poses some interesting challenges for those developing services on top of it, but also for those who need to test and monitor these services. In his session at WebRTC Summit, Tsahi Levent-Levi, co-founder of testRTC, reviewed the various challenges posed by WebRTC when it comes to testing and monitoring and on ways to overcome them.
Jan. 16, 2017 06:30 AM EST Reads: 5,812
Every successful software product evolves from an idea to an enterprise system. Notably, the same way is passed by the product owner's company. In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Oleg Lola, CEO of MobiDev, will provide a generalized overview of the evolution of a software product, the product owner, the needs that arise at various stages of this process, and the value brought by a software development partner to the product owner as a response to these needs.
Jan. 16, 2017 05:30 AM EST Reads: 1,067
WebRTC services have already permeated corporate communications in the form of videoconferencing solutions. However, WebRTC has the potential of going beyond and catalyzing a new class of services providing more than calls with capabilities such as mass-scale real-time media broadcasting, enriched and augmented video, person-to-machine and machine-to-machine communications. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Luis Lopez, CEO of Kurento, introduced the technologies required for implementing these idea...
Jan. 16, 2017 04:30 AM EST Reads: 4,468
The WebRTC Summit New York, to be held June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, announces that its Call for Papers is now open. Topics include all aspects of improving IT delivery by eliminating waste through automated business models leveraging cloud technologies. WebRTC Summit is co-located with 20th International Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo. WebRTC is the future of browser-to-browser communications, and continues to make inroads into the traditional, difficult, plug-in web co...
Jan. 16, 2017 03:30 AM EST Reads: 2,829
The Internet of Things will challenge the status quo of how IT and development organizations operate. Or will it? Certainly the fog layer of IoT requires special insights about data ontology, security and transactional integrity. But the developmental challenges are the same: People, Process and Platform. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Craig Sproule, CEO of Metavine, demonstrated how to move beyond today's coding paradigm and shared the must-have mindsets for removing complexity from the develop...
Jan. 16, 2017 03:30 AM EST Reads: 5,211
While not quite mainstream yet, WebRTC is starting to gain ground with Carriers, Enterprises and Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s) alike. WebRTC makes it easy for developers to add audio and video communications into their applications by using Web browsers as their platform. But like any market, every customer engagement has unique requirements, as well as constraints. And of course, one size does not fit all. In her session at WebRTC Summit, Dr. Natasha Tamaskar, Vice President, Head of C...
Jan. 16, 2017 03:15 AM EST Reads: 5,714
Who are you? How do you introduce yourself? Do you use a name, or do you greet a friend by the last four digits of his social security number? Assuming you don’t, why are we content to associate our identity with 10 random digits assigned by our phone company? Identity is an issue that affects everyone, but as individuals we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Ben Klang, Founder & President of Mojo Lingo, discussed the impact of technology on identity. Sho...
Jan. 16, 2017 02:30 AM EST Reads: 3,899
DevOps is being widely accepted (if not fully adopted) as essential in enterprise IT. But as Enterprise DevOps gains maturity, expands scope, and increases velocity, the need for data-driven decisions across teams becomes more acute. DevOps teams in any modern business must wrangle the ‘digital exhaust’ from the delivery toolchain, "pervasive" and "cognitive" computing, APIs and services, mobile devices and applications, the Internet of Things, and now even blockchain. In this power panel at @...
Jan. 16, 2017 01:45 AM EST Reads: 2,649
With all the incredible momentum behind the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, it is easy to forget that not a single CEO wakes up and wonders if “my IoT is broken.” What they wonder is if they are making the right decisions to do all they can to increase revenue, decrease costs, and improve customer experience – effectively the same challenges they have always had in growing their business. The exciting thing about the IoT industry is now these decisions can be better, faster, and smarter. Now ...
Jan. 16, 2017 01:15 AM EST Reads: 4,143
WebRTC is about the data channel as much as about video and audio conferencing. However, basically all commercial WebRTC applications have been built with a focus on audio and video. The handling of “data” has been limited to text chat and file download – all other data sharing seems to end with screensharing. What is holding back a more intensive use of peer-to-peer data? In her session at @ThingsExpo, Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, WebRTC Applications Team Lead at National ICT Australia, looked at differ...
Jan. 16, 2017 12:00 AM EST Reads: 4,771
Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place June 6-8, 2017 at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, is co-located with the 20th International Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. @ThingsExpo New York Call for Papers is now open.
Jan. 15, 2017 10:15 PM EST Reads: 3,488
WebRTC has had a real tough three or four years, and so have those working with it. Only a few short years ago, the development world were excited about WebRTC and proclaiming how awesome it was. You might have played with the technology a couple of years ago, only to find the extra infrastructure requirements were painful to implement and poorly documented. This probably left a bitter taste in your mouth, especially when things went wrong.
Jan. 15, 2017 08:45 PM EST Reads: 7,377
A critical component of any IoT project is what to do with all the data being generated. This data needs to be captured, processed, structured, and stored in a way to facilitate different kinds of queries. Traditional data warehouse and analytical systems are mature technologies that can be used to handle certain kinds of queries, but they are not always well suited to many problems, particularly when there is a need for real-time insights.
Jan. 15, 2017 07:00 PM EST Reads: 6,125
Big Data engines are powering a lot of service businesses right now. Data is collected from users from wearable technologies, web behaviors, purchase behavior as well as several arbitrary data points we’d never think of. The demand for faster and bigger engines to crunch and serve up the data to services is growing exponentially. You see a LOT of correlation between “Cloud” and “Big Data” but on Big Data and “Hybrid,” where hybrid hosting is the sanest approach to the Big Data Infrastructure pro...
Jan. 15, 2017 05:15 PM EST Reads: 4,776
Businesses are struggling to manage the information flow and interactions between all of these new devices and things jumping on their network, and the apps and IT systems they control. The data businesses gather is only helpful if they can do something with it. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Witeck, Principal Technology Strategist at Citrix, discussed how different the impact of IoT will be for large businesses, expanding how IoT will allow large organizations to make their legacy applica...
Jan. 15, 2017 04:15 PM EST Reads: 1,920
SYS-CON Events announced today that Catchpoint, a leading digital experience intelligence company, has been named “Silver Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Catchpoint Systems is a leading Digital Performance Analytics company that provides unparalleled insight into your customer-critical services to help you consistently deliver an amazing customer experience. Designed for digital business, C...
Jan. 15, 2017 01:15 PM EST Reads: 1,693
With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing IoT strategies, now is the perfect time to attend @ThingsExpo 2016 in New York. Learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is as "IoT-Ready" as it can be! Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, is co-located with 20th Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry p...
Jan. 15, 2017 12:30 PM EST Reads: 3,566
The 20th International Cloud Expo has announced that its Call for Papers is open. Cloud Expo, to be held June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, brings together Cloud Computing, Big Data, Internet of Things, DevOps, Containers, Microservices and WebRTC to one location. With cloud computing driving a higher percentage of enterprise IT budgets every year, it becomes increasingly important to plant your flag in this fast-expanding business opportunity. Submit your speaking proposal ...
Jan. 15, 2017 12:15 PM EST Reads: 4,963
"There's a growing demand from users for things to be faster. When you think about all the transactions or interactions users will have with your product and everything that is between those transactions and interactions - what drives us at Catchpoint Systems is the idea to measure that and to analyze it," explained Leo Vasiliou, Director of Web Performance Engineering at Catchpoint Systems, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York Ci...
Jan. 15, 2017 12:15 PM EST Reads: 5,400

domain: news


text: Last spring it was announced that Sequim would have a couple of new retail chain outlets: A Michael’s and Ulta, a beauty and cosmetics outlet. The site spent a long time looking just like this. I heard recently that progress was being made and dropped by for an update. Walls! Workers! It’s coming along.


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Recalls & Warnings
ConsumerLab.com is keeping you informed with current product recalls and warnings.
Posted December 31, 2020
FDA Warns Seller of Liposomal Vitamin C, Vitamin D & More
On December 21, 2020, the FDA issued a warning letter to Sparrow Health & Performance LLC for selling the products Organic Liposomal Vitamin C, Nanoemulsified D3K2 (also called Liquid Liposomal Vitamin D3 with K2 or Liposomal Vitamin D3) and Immune Support Package (which includes the products Organic Liposomal Vitamin C, Nanoemulsified D3K2, Virus Be Gone, and Smart Silver) with unsupported claims that they can treat coronavirus (COVID-19).
The FDA has previously stated: "There currently are no vaccines, pills, potions, lotions, lozenges or other prescription or over-the-counter products available to treat or cure coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)."
Sparrow Health & Performance products were promoted with statements such as "NOW IN STOCK LIPOSOMAL VITAMIN D3... Vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of respiratory infection, regulates cytokine production and can limit the risk of other viruses such as influenza," "Vitamin C is currently being used in some hospitals to treat the coronavirus & seriously ill," and "Virus Be Gone... This blend is a family favorite that can be taken daily to keep viruses at bay."
Also see ConsumerLab's answer to the following questions:
The FDA instructed the company to send an email to COVID-19-Task-Force-CDER@fda.hhs.gov within 48 hours of receipt of the warning, describing the specific steps it has taken to correct these violations.
For more information, use the link below.
See Related Warnings:


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Five years after opening, Wynwood mainstay Wynwood Kitchen + Bar has finally launched its brunch. Offered every weekend, the menu is inspired by the executive chef’s Miguel Aguilar home country of Venezuela. On the menu you can find dishes like tostadas and sweet corn pancake that can all be paired with special Cusqueña beers.
The beer company holds a special place in Aguilar’s heart since he got to travel to their factories in Peru last August to learn all about how they were made and try some of Peru’s best cuisine. The weeklong trip – that Chat Chow TV was luckily a part of – took a group of journalists and chefs through Peru from the seaside city of Lima to the mountains of Machu Picchu. Chefs from across the country demonstrated different techniques, flavors and ingredients that the group had never experienced before. And everyone got to learn how to properly pair Cusqueña beer with all of their favorite dishes, from sweet to savory and everything in between. Aguilar even added a special ceviche to the new brunch menu inspired by the trip.
Curious what Miguel Aguilar favorite beer is? Or what culinary tips he learned in Peru? Find out all of that in the video above.


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Corbion partners with chef Sammy Monsour to highlight algae-fed salmon
Dutch food ingredients company Corbion has partnered with Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.-based celebrity chef Sammy Monsour to educate consumers about how its research into algae-based aquaculture feed is paying off.
Corbion debuted an educational video showcasing salmon that Chilean-based Ventisqueros – which sells in the U.S. via the BluGlacier brand – raised using feed containing its AlgaPrime DHA during Seafood Expo North America 2019. The video followed Monsour as he toured Ventisqueros’s facilities in southern Chile to learn the process behind raising salmon to harvestable size.
In addition to the video, Corbion and Monsour are having a chef demonstration and lunch in the demonstration theater 18 March at 12:30 p.m., which includes BioMar CEO Carlos Diaz.
Corbion’s AlgaPrime™ DHA feed, which has been created to provide omega3 fatty acids previously only available via fishmeal sourced in wild-caught fisheries, is being used in BioMar aquaculture feed recipes and is a key part of getting Ventisqueros’s fish-in, fish-out ratio low. Ventisqueros’s new “Silverside” salmon line uses just half-a-kilogram of wild-caught fish to a kilogram of salmon, but still retains similar levels of omega3s to fish that use far more fishmeal.
“We are very proud of the results we have,” BluGlacier CEO Sebastian Guycoolea said during a sneak preview of the video before SENA19 kicked off. “The story here is, how do you tell this to the public?”
The video was in part thanks to Monsour’s desire to see the process behind raising salmon in southern Chile after Corbion initially approached him to partner up on educating the public about the importance of reducing the amount of wild-caught fish being used in aquaculture operations.
“I was like, I have to go see it if we’re going to do this,” Monsour said.
Monsour got a full tour of the facilities, from hatchery to final processing, with a video showcasing his journey.
“I traveled 6,000 miles from my restaurant in Los Angeles to southern Chile to explore today’s most innovative solutions in aquaculture that are helping shape a more sustainable food system,” Monsour said. “What I learned on my journey is that not all farmed salmon are created equal – the water has to be clean, the fish have to be healthy, and what they eat really matters as it affects the quality and nutritional value of what arrives in my kitchen.”
The ultimate goal of Corbion, and Ventisqueros, is to reduce the amount of fishmeal used in aquaculture operations to create a more sustainable product that doesn’t need to rely on finite natural resources. As global food demands increase, products like farm-raised salmon can help offset pressures on natural fisheries.
Educating consumers about the relationship between wild-caught fishmeal and the potential of algae-based feed is the motivating factor behind the new video.
“With algae-fed salmon brands gaining distribution at U.S. retailers, we are excited to work with chef Sammy Monsour to start a dialogue with consumers and chefs about the impact of sustainably produced salmon,” Marc Den Hartog, executive vice president of innovation platforms at Corbion, said. “Just as Sammy wanted to learn more, we believe his journey provides a better understanding of the role of feed ingredients, such as AlgaPrime DHA, in raising healthy salmon that in turn are better for our health and the health of our planet.”


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While Google plans to share data for 2022 soon, it has revealed that in 2021, it
eliminated over 3.4 billion ads, limited over 5.7 billion, and suspended over 5.6 million advertiser accounts.
Google also stated that it had prohibited or restricted advertisements from serving on 1.7 billion publisher pages and had taken broader site-level enforcement action on around 63,000 publisher sites in Nigeria and elsewhere across the world.
These details were revealed yesterday in Lagos at the Google Ads Privacy Immersion
session. The search platform stated that when it takes judgments concerning
advertisements and other monetized material on the platforms, user safety is at the top of the priority list.
It emphasized that thousands of Googlers work around the clock to protect consumers, businesses, and publishers against the harmful use of the company’s advertising network.
According to Google, this important work is being done because an ad-supported
Internet allows everyone to access essential information and diverse content for free
and as the digital world evolves, “our policy development and enforcement strategies evolve with it, helping to prevent abuse while allowing businesses to reach new customers and grow.”
According to the internet giant, 652.1 million advertisements considered to be abusive on the network were eliminated; 286.8 million were adult content; 136.9 million were trademarks; 125.6 million were unsuitable content; 75.1 million were gambling and games; and 60 million were healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
Financial services receive 58.9 million; copyrights receive 44.2 million;
misrepresentation receives 38.1 million; legal requirements receive 32.6 million;
dangerous products and services receive 20.6 million; alcohol receives 9.4 million;
enabling dishonest behavior receives 7.9 million; personalized ads receive 2.2 million; and counterfeit goods receive one million.
Google stated that it has continued to invest in policies, a team of experts, and
enforcement technology to keep ahead of potential dangers, including the
implementation of new policies and the update of current ones. It revealed that in 2021, a multi-strike system for repeat policy violations was implemented, and over 30 policies or restrictions for advertisers and publishers were added or updated, including a policy prohibiting claims that promote climate change denial and a certification for U.S.-based health insurance providers to only allow ads from government exchanges, first-party providers, and licensed third-party brokers.
On the limited commercials, Google noted that while internet advertising may be a great method to contact customers, in sensitive areas, they would work hard to avoid showing ads when and where they could be inappropriate. As a result, they permit limited promotion of the content listed below. These promotions may not be available to every user in every region, and advertisers may be required to complete additional conditions before their ads can run. It should be noted that not all ad products, services, or networks can support limited content.
As a result, the search giant restricted 1.4 billion trademarks, 511.4 million other
restricted businesses, 223 million financial services, 219.3 million health care and
medicines, 128.5 million alcohol, 126.1 million adult content, 108.1 million gambling and games, 105.7 million legal requirements, and 68.6 million copyrights.


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Monday, 20 March 2023
OpenSea Creates Tool for NFT Creators to Enforce Royalties On-Chain
by Berkeley Lovelace
NFT marketplace OpenSea has revealed its plan to create a tool to help creators on its platform enforce creator fee payments.
Please leave this field empty.


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Tesla Inc TSLA shares are trading higher amid overall market strength after the Federal Reserve announced it would raise the key interest rate by 50 basis points.
The Federal Reserve raised its target fed funds rate by 0.5% on Wednesday to a new range of between 0.75% and 1.0%, its first rate hike of at least half a percentage point in more than 20 years. The Fed also said it will begin reducing the size of its balance sheet starting on June 1… Read More
Tesla is a vertically integrated sustainable energy company that also aims to transition the world to electric mobility by making electric vehicles.
According to data from Benzinga Pro, Tesla has a 52-week high of $1,243.49 and a 52-week low of $546.98.


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Wal-Mart said Thursday it no longer imports fish from a Chinese factory that employed North Koreans after a report said the US retailer may have inadvertently subsidized the nuclear-armed state.
Wal-Mart barred suppliers from using fish from a facility in Hunchun, one of several in the eastern Chinese city that were reported to employ North Korean laborers in slave-like conditions.
Wal-Mart gave the Hunchun facility a "red" rating after it did not cooperate with a company investigation into labor problems, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Marilee McInnis.
This file photo taken on December 31, 2014 shows a Walmart store in Landover, Maryland. (AFP-Yonhap)
"The welfare and dignity of workers is very important to us, and we are working in several ways to help combat the use of forced labor in global supply chains," McInnis said in an email.
"We have a system in place to assess suppliers' disclosed factories for compliance with our standards and take appropriate action when we do identify issues that need to be addressed."
"Combatting forced labor is a complex problem that no one company, industry, or government can tackle alone," she said, adding Wal-Mart was working with industry groups, governments, other retailers and NGOs to "create lasting, sustainable change."
Conditions under which North Korean laborers work at the plant were uncovered in an investigation by the Associated Press.
German supermarket chain Aldi, which the article said also has imported seafood from Hunchun factories employing North Koreans, did not respond to questions from AFP.
American companies and companies that operate in the US are barred from doing business with North Korea or with people from the country
AP said Hunchun was part of a broader effort by Pyongyang to disperse tens of thousands of workers around the world in various industries, bringing in an estimated $200 to $500 million annually and bolstering North Korea's nuclear program.
Shipping records showed that more than 100 cargo containers with more than 2,000 tons of salmon, snow crab and other fish were sent to the US and Canada from factories where North Koreans worked, AP said.
Workers at the plant are not allowed to leave the compounds without permission and have no access to telephones or email. As much as 70 percent of their pay is taken by the North Korean government, the article said.
In late September, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on eight North Korean banks and 26 executives, targeting North Koreans working as representatives of North Korean banks in China, Russia, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.
The sanctions were the latest in a series of penalties by the US and the United Nations aimed at choking off Pyongyang's nuclear program. (AFP)


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American multinational retail giant Walmart has revived talks with India's largest conglomerate Tata group for a strategic partnership in India. The Bentonville-based company is looking to enhance its engagement with Indian consumers in the wholesale cash-and-carry business.
The development comes days after Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that the company would be scouting for a global partner for its retail business in India.
Meanwhile, Walmart's association with Tata is aimed at the US behemoth leveraging Tata's existing distribution network to expand its outreach to Kirana stores. Walmart also plans to enhance Flipkart's presence in the food and grocery segment. It owns a 77 percent stake in the ecommerce company.
One of the executives privy to talks said: "This partnership will aim to expand reach to kiranas, upgrade them and then utilize the network for fulfillment of food and grocery orders for Flipkart. It's almost the same as what Reliance Industries intends to do and at a similar scale. This is an asset-light model and Walmart will thereby have an indirect presence in retail in a peaceful way without making any capital investment."
He further added that Walmart is vouching for an Indian partner who is "respected" and "has a voice in policymaking". Tata Group and Tata Sons are being represented by its CFO Saurabh Agrawal in the negotiations. In recent times, senior group executives have visited the US to deliberate on the issue. But the discussions are yet to reach the final stage and expected to take months.
The Times of India reported that if Walmart wants to scale up its local business in India and leverage on its whopping $16 billion investment in Flipkart, it will need a local partner with a strong offline presence.
Walmart is putting its bet on Tata group for such expertise. Tata has a considerable presence in Indian hyper and supermarkets ecosystem. Tata group operates under the banner of Star Hyper, Star Market, Star Daily and Star Extra and has 43 stores across Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
As per present regulations, 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed in single-brand retail, food retail and e-commerce marketplaces in India. On the other hand, in multi-brand retail, 51 percent FDI is allowed.


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UnionBank is on a mission to tech up Philippines
If there’s a fintech “flag carrier” of sorts in the local banking scene, Union Bank of the Philippines lays claim to it. A technology firm and a bank rolled in one, this Aboitiz unit has delved deeply into the world of technology, embracing blockchain, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, metaverse and all those high-tech stuff like no other domestic peer.
And it isn’t shy when it comes to showcasing its wares, especially during the recent Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF).
“The Philippines isn’t far behind when it comes to financial technology. In fact, what we have developed in the field of banking technology is comparable, if not even ahead of the technologies developed in Southeast Asia,” UnionBank president Edwin Bautista tells Inquirer in a chat at the bank’s SFF 2022 booth.
Set up in a conspicuous shade of orange in a massive Singapore Expo hall teeming with exhibitors, startup founders clad in Mark Zuckerberg-style casual fashion and investors hunting for the next unicorns, UnionBank’s booth is hard to miss; it’s the only one with two levels. The first story showcases key milestones and technologies, alongside a patent wall (a replica of that in its Laguna innovation campus) — a visible representation of its innovation culture. The second floor is a mini-lounge with free-flowing coffee and snacks, where media chats and small business huddles take place.
“We’re out here carrying the flag, competing with the Singaporean banks, confident enough to display our creations,” Bautista says.
But why build such a high profile in fintech? Because it believes that invisible banking imbedded in everyday transactions is the future, UnionBank wants to be in the loop of fast-changing technologies. As it rubs elbows with future unicorns, it captures new businesses that help tech up the country.
“As of today, 88 percent of all fintechs registered in the Philippines bank with UnionBank,” Bautista shares. Many of them they got to know at SFF, where UnionBank is making its mark for the third time.
Furthermore, SFF is like a sumptuous buffet of the best talent in Southeast Asia, allowing UnionBank to expand its fintech brain power, especially for fintech arm UBX and newly launched UnionDigital.
“Our idea for UnionDigital is to create the best digital bank; [thus] we need to get the best available talent, not just talent within the Philippines but talent in the world,” Bautista says.
This SFF footprint comes timely especially as UnionDigital has gone live since July. It’s the only one owned by an incumbent bank among the six BSP licensees in this new category—a big plus in bulking up earning assets.
After just four months in operation, UnionDigital has acquired 1.73 million customers and reached P4 billion in loan book, fast-tracked by the migration of accounts from its parent bank’s old digital platform EON.
Bautista thinks that UnionDigital will end 2022 with P4.8 billion in loan book, the biggest among its peers. UnionDigital also signed up its first corporate customer, cryptocurrency trading platform Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX).
“We are confident that UnionDigital Bank offers the banking solutions that digital natives, such as PDAX, need to continuously grow,” says Nichel Gaba, PDAX founder and CEO.
For its part, UBX is hitting volume milestones. It has acquired more than 200,000 customers since its launch and brought to its open finance network 150 regulated financial institutions. Revenues grew more than five times in 2021.
“They just need to monetize and commercialize and monetize the platform,” Bautista says.
Supply chain financing
Likewise showcased are the use cases for its supply chain financing (SCF) offered to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) serving large corporations.
Factoring, which raises working capital by selling future receivables, has been around for a long time. But UnionBank’s SCF differs in that it’s powered by a democratized ledger system—a.k.a. blockchain—to ascertain veracity of receivables. Big corporations act as anchors for their SME suppliers to borrow against such receivables.
“You could talk about a large FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) company and their suppliers, or an energy company and their network of dealers. We build ways of lending to smaller partners around the principal anchor, an ecosystem type of approach,” explains Ramon Duarte, head of UnionBank transaction banking.
Gaining traction since 2020, one of SCF’s first anchors was a major telecom player, whose equipment suppliers needed cash ahead of scheduled payments. The Aboitiz Group’s Pilmico Foods Corp. is another.
“So the orders, the volumes that are flowing from Pilmico to their dealers are all available in this platform, and the bank can see that, so we’re able to get assurance that these shipments were, in fact, delivered and going to be paid, and we will receive the payment,” he says.
By bringing visibility into the transactions, UnionBank better gauges the provenance of receivables and thus extends credit to SMEs at lower rates than creditors elsewhere. It’s like efficiently tracking the provenance of an artwork to better gauge fair value.
All told, Bautista feels that this 2022 is his “lucky year” because all management’s commitments made to UnionBank’s board have been met.
On the bottom line, UnionBank’s net profit was flat at about P10 billion in the first nine months, but it’s seen to pick up pace.
“Income-wise, this year, I think we will still manage double-digit growth despite the fact that we’re carrying a large cost structure because of the integration (referring to the P72-billion acquisition of Citi’s local consumer and retail businesses). Since they are coming in ahead of schedule, it’s helping us a lot, so we can still hit the double-digit growth in terms of income,” Bautista says. INQ
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Napster, the online music service, has stressed that it is "on the path to profitability" despite seeing its losses widen further.
Napster says there is strong demand for its subscription service
The firm made a $16.7m (£9.5m) loss in the last quarter, up from the $14.9m reverse in the same period last year.
It now has more than 500,000 'premium' users of its music download service, up 110% over the past year.
Napster, relaunched as a legal service in 2004, said it had enough cash to fund its business until at least 2008.
Some analysts have expressed concerns about the company's financial position and its ability to sustain continuing losses.
However, Napster said it was upbeat about its prospects for 2006, in which it will offer a new free music 'experience' through its website.
"We believe the prospects for our new Napster.com initiative, the robust organic growth of our subscription business, together with our focus on cost controls will all contribute to accelerating our path to profitability," said Chris Gorog, the firm's chairman and chief executive.
Mr Gorog said Napster had seen strong demand for its download service in Germany, which was launched at the end of last year.
Napster's sales increased only marginally to $23.5m over the three month period to the end of December.
However, sales are 94% higher than a year ago.


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In an attempt to seize a part of the smartphone advertising market, Amazon has introduced a new ad platform for developers.
The new, unnamed service lets devs pay per click to promote their services on Android devices and Amazon tablets.
"We work with many developers to support merchandising and advertising across our platforms and devices," an Amazon spokeswoman told Bloomberg
. "We realized that many more developers would benefit from this advertising and merchandising."
Amazon did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.
Amazon has less than a 1 percent share of the $28.7 billion U.S. mobile advertising industry, according to Bloomberg. Comparatively, Google
carries 35 percent, and Facebook


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How Terrorville caught Filipinos' attention
Philippines - An online marketing campaign with YouTube as its mainstay has helped Singapore-based Oak3 films effectively promote its web drama Terrorville in the Philippines.
The production firm's first interactive web drama Terrorville was launched in the Philippines, a market where 98.7% of the 29 million internet users watch YouTube.
It was only fitting that the drama that was to be played on YouTube be advertised on the platform itself. The partnership with YouTube started since October 2011 and most of the advertising was done during and after the launch date of 13 October 2011.
Terrorville was a game adventure developed for the online platform where viewers must make decisions on behalf of the lead characters, Tom and Mary. Their decisions impact the fate of others and the objective is to escape the horror mansion alive.
Over the span of four weeks the online advertising campaign resulted in an increase of an average of 12.8% in visitor traffic to the Terrorville website week on week.
Almost 41.9% of the total traffic for Oak3 film's YouTube channel came from YouTube advertising. For the ad campaign, Oak3 films also leveraged Google AdWords alongwith SMS marketing.
Online pre-marketing campaign for the show included uploading of teaser trailers on various blogs and file sharing sites to build buzz about the drama.
Later, the partnership with YouTube helped embed the interactive drama via blog posts, Facebook, smses and Twitter.
"With over 23.4 million people constantly connected to some form of social media, Philippines proved itself ideal for the Oak3 films to test the waters for its web drama," an Oak3 spokesperson said.
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- Oak 3 Films


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Scarlett Johansson – the new Mango imageOctober 16, 2009
Mango representatives decided that actress Scarlett Johansson should be the company’s image for the season autumn – winter.
The famous actress Scarlett Johansson was present at the end of this week, in a promotional campaign organized by Mango in Munich, Germany.
During her visit, representatives of the Spanish clothing company had proposed her to be the new face of Mango for autumn-winter. In early November, the actress will make a photoshoot for the company catalog. The photo session will take place in Germany.


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Honda announced a recall of nearly 304,000 Accord and HR-V vehicles due to a possible seat belt defect. Honda said that the seat belt buckle switches on the front passenger seats in the affected cars may become stuck in the latched position, making it difficult for people to unbuckle their seat belt. This could increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Honda says the recall is being conducted to ensure the safety of its customers. This recall affects certain models of the 2018 and 2019 Honda Accord and the 2019 HR-V. Honda says it notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the issue on March 12, 2020.
If you own a vehicle affected by the recall, you will be contacted by Honda and urged to schedule a repair appointment to get the seat belt buckle switch replaced. Honda will replace the switch at no charge to the customer. Honda advises customers to use their seat belt, even if the buckle switch is stuck, until a replacement can be installed.
The Honda Accord and HR-V are two of Honda’s best-selling and most popular vehicles, so this recall affects a large number of drivers. Though the defect is serious and could cause injury, Honda is doing the responsible thing by contacting owners immediately and replacing the defective parts. Honda is proving their commitment to customer safety with this recall.


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TOKYO, Japan – December 22, 2016 – Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857) has announced that Toshio Maruyama, senior executive advisor at the company, is the 2017 recipient of the SEMI Sales and Marketing Excellence Award.
The SEMI® Sales and Marketing Excellence Award was established in 2000 to recognize individuals who have created and/or implemented marketing programs that improve customer satisfaction and contribute to the development of the semiconductor equipment and materials industry. Mr. Maruyama was selected to receive the award for his leadership in enhancing reliability in semiconductor Automated Test Equipment (ATE), which not only differentiated Advantest from entrenched competition, but also furthered the development of the semiconductor industry overall, as well as for his contributions over many years to multiple industry organizations. Mr. Maruyama is the 20th person to receive this award.
SEMI presented the award to Mr. Maruyama in a ceremony at SEMICON Japan on December 14 in Tokyo. “Mr. Maruyama is recognized both for his innovative marketing leadership and his steadfast commitment to guiding industry associations. Today, SEMI and its membership recognize Maruyama-san for his contributions to the success of our industry,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.
Accepting the award, Mr. Maruyama said, “It is a great honor to receive this renowned award. I believe that presentations of papers, the development of groundbreaking business models, and participation in industry groups are all important corporate activities, which not only benefit corporate branding, but make our industry more vibrant. I am proud that this long-held belief has been recognized.”
Left: Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.
Right: Toshio Maruyama, senior executive advisor at Advantest.
Note: All information supplied in this release is correct at the time of publication, but may be subject to change.


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An insult? For an Alabama beach town, a cafe’s controversial name upsets officials
Hawaiian donkeys have a generational reputation for being tough and stubborn, earning him the nickname “Bad Ass Ones”.
The hard-working donkeys also serve as inspiration for a Colorado-based coffee chain called “Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii.”
But an Alabama town thinks the company’s name is vulgar and city officials are urging residents not to patronize it once it opens its first Alabama location next month.
City officials blasted the coffee company’s name at a council meeting on Tuesday and said it was inappropriate for children.
“If that’s not a name or a word that I don’t want out of my 12-year-old’s mouth, then it’s not appropriate to be on a sign on one of our streets,” said Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon. . “That’s kind of how I see it.”
Kennon and other council members rreacted to a Facebook commenter who noticed the slogan “In God We Trust” displayed in the council chamber, and asked why the city praised “for its Christian roots” allows the display of a cafe “with profanity clearly in the title?”
Also on display in the council chamber is a large sign that reads “God, Family, Country.”
“It shows they have no respect for us, what we’re marketing or what our brand is,” Kennon said, referring to the city’s long campaign to be branded a “family-friendly” vacation destination. .
He added: “Like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, we want to market our brand. That’s what makes us special. You can’t call yourself conservative values, traditional values, and family values and agree with anything that goes against that.
Kennon continued: “The council is pretty much united in our disgust. I don’t think we’re prudes. But why would I drive to a place with a name like that with an 8-year-old child in the car when I wouldn’t let (that name) come out of (the child’s) mouth? We have somehow become rude in accepting this kind of waste in this country.
Chris Ruszkowski, senior vice president of marketing at Royal Ahoa Franchise Company LLC – owners of the Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii brand – said the name was not meant to be profane, but to show “historical and cultural significance”. towards the donkeys which the transported coffee produced in Hawaii.
“The supply and production of coffee depended in large part on these unique, incredibly strong and sure-footed domesticated animals,” Ruszkowski said in an email to AL.com. “The brand is named after these awesome animals that play a crucial role in harvesting the coffee beans that are behind Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii’s premium coffees.”
He said Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii pays homage to donkey legends in a new logo that was redesigned in 2020. He said the idea was to use the word “Ass” (with the word “Ass referencing a biblical reference for donkey) “front and center” in brand marketing.
Ruszkowski said the company is doing everything possible to make sure the public isn’t confused about the name by printing the donkey caption on the back of every coffee mug and drink sold.
He admits the name needs an explanation with each new market the coffee enters.
“Despite our best efforts to get ahead of new markets to ‘tell our story’ before building new stores, we often have to educate the public about what’s behind the name,” Ruszkowski said. “Once this story has enough mass (usually achieved through media and social media), our independent franchise stores are welcomed and valued as contributing members of their community.”
There are currently 24 cafes in operation in 10 states, including several cities on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Pensacola has one, and another is set to open in Pensacola Beach.
Ruszkowski said the company name “most of the time” doesn’t cause problems for city officials.
“Nothing stopped us from opening,” he said. “I think once they understand who we are and that we are part of the community and give back with jobs and charities, we are a great place with a warm and welcoming Aloha spirit.”
Ruszkowski said he was unaware of the concerns at Orange Beach.
“I’ll be honest,” he said. “The word ‘ass’ is disruptive, and I like that as a marketer. But we don’t play that. I’m not looking for a cheap laugh in a disruptive way. It’s completely different from my neighbor who runs five miles a day being (called) a “bad guy” or someone who goes to the bar and acts like a “jerk”. We 100% honor the origin of the donkey names. It’s very Hawaiian We started in Hawaii and that’s where the name caught on and we’re bringing that to the mainland with fans visiting us (while on vacation) in Hawaii.
Said Ruszkowski of the Orange Beach location: “We are excited to be entering the community. We hope there will not be too much opposition. »
Kennon said he understands the cafe’s name is related to donkeys, but he still doesn’t like it.
The city of Orange Beach has a vulgarity on the books ordinance, which it enacted about a decade ago amid concerns about vulgar or indecent T-shirts and other merchandise being sold in souvenir stores .
Kennon said the city will not pursue enforcement action against the cafe.
“They can justify it however they want,” he said, referring to the donkey origins of the cafe’s name. “That’s why we’re not pursuing them legally.”
He added: “I just hope our community says that’s not who we are. We understand the threat of censorship. But at the same time, we have the right not to frequent the store if we find it offensive. »
Tim Zick, a First Amendment expert and professor at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., said the Supreme Court would allow the city to ban “any signage in a locality for aesthetic or other neutral purposes in content terms,” but it does not allow email-based censorship.
“This type of ban would not be discriminatory based on what appears on a particular sign,” Zick said, referring to a hypothetical blanket sign ban, which doesn’t appear to be being considered in Orange Beach.
He added, “If the signage contained obscene or unprotected content, the city could ban it. But ‘Bad Ass Coffee’ isn’t obscene, unprotected speech, so the mayor correctly reasoned that the city doesn’t have the power to ban or regulate signage based on its content.
Zick said disputes are common and sometimes involve wine and beer labels or other commercial communications such as trademarks.
“The basic principle is the same: government cannot regulate based on content,” he said. “Stricter restrictions, for example, limits on where the coffee business can advertise (to prevent children from seeing the language), could be maintained. But the (Supreme) Court was skeptical of content discrimination, even when it comes to ‘commercial speech’, which is the label attached to commercial advertisements. »
Coffee is not the only business concerning the city.
Dick’s Last Resort, which recently opened a venue at The Wharf, bills itself as putting the “FU in Fun”, according to company website. The bar and restaurant are known for intentionally employing obnoxious staff and marketing T-shirts and other merchandise with sexual innuendo. The restaurants were purchased by strip club operator, Deja Vu, in 2019.
Kennon said the city “didn’t want Dick here.” But he said city officials are having “a long conversation” with restaurant staff to make sure no one under the age of 18 will be allowed inside if the venue operates with adult themes. .
“They’ve been very accommodating and so far haven’t gone in a direction that others are going with the vulgarities,” Kennon said. “Dick’s tries to comply, and we appreciate that.”
Kennon, mayor of Orange Beach since 2009, has drawn media attention in the past for offering other candid views on what he and other city officials see as a lack of morality in this regarding businesses, events or other attractions on Alabama beaches.
Kennon lobbied for the vulgarity ordinance, saying AL.com in 2013 that he was “absolutely mortified” after spotting messages on merchandise being sold at stores in the city.
“It was one of the most vulgar things I’ve ever seen and I don’t explain it to my child,” Kennon said, referring to the T-shirts he saw displayed near the cash registers. at the time. The mayor said at the time that t-shirts were displayed in stores with images of obscene language and patterns of oral sex, glorification of drug use and promiscuity, and even one labeled “Suicide Watch ” with a person hanging with a rope and another in a chair watching while eating popcorn.
“It’s been seven or eight years, and we don’t have that at Orange Beach anymore. We strictly enforce this. We are a family place, and family means children.
Kennon and other city officials also weighed in on entertainment they deemed questionable. In 2015, Kennon raised concerns about The Wharf amphitheater hosting a Widespread Panic concert, saying the jam band’s concert at Orange Beach in 2010 caused “chaos and destruction”.
Jeff Silvers, who was the city’s acting mayor at the time, said the city and its officials “don’t promote that lifestyle and softness” that Widespread Panic fans bring. This comment prompted Widespread Panic fans to hold a “Flopper’s Ball” in Orange Beach. A number of fans showed up dressed in formal attire, but there were few police incidents at the 2015 concert.
Kennon has also been candid about his concerns about unruly behavior during spring break. He said Orange Beach wanted to create itself as a “sanctuary city for families” and “eliminate an MTV vibe” during the annual break that draws students from across the country.
Spring break in Orange Beach and neighboring Gulf Shores has also been marketed as a family event. Gulf Shores, in particular, banned alcohol on its beaches for several years during the spring break schedule.
“We’re not prudes here, but when it comes to our kids, there are certain standards that we don’t stray from,” Kennon said.


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Black Sea Initiative Success & Status
The Black Sea Initiative has allowed for the safe export of over 30 million metric tons (MMT) of grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine since initial agreement in July 2022, according to the United Nations. As of May 11, 2023, 50% of the total grain and foodstuffs cargo exported through the program has been corn, the grain most affected by blockages at the beginning of the war. Officials from United Nations, Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia are meeting this week in pursuit of extending the agreement beyond the approaching expiration date on May 18, 2023.
The grain corridor has accounted for 25.2 MMT, or 50% of Ukraine’s 52.9 MMT total grain and oilseeds shipments from July 2022 to March 2023. Three ports on the Danube River provide another increasingly used pathway for grain exports from Ukraine, accounting for 22% of grain and oilseed exports in that time frame. Ukraine now exports 1.5 million tons of grain monthly on the Danube, and expansion of a river canal should allow for an additional 500,000 metric tons each month, or 6 MMT per year.
Without an extension, Ukraine’s ability to export corn and other grains from ports that are part of the deal would be restricted. But alternatives exist, such as expanded potential for exports via the Danube. The fate of the Black Sea Grain Initiative may impact Ukraine’s export potential. Further impacting export potential are unknowns about planted area and production for 2023.
Ukraine As a Global Corn Exporter
Ukraine produced a record 42.1 MMT of corn in 2021, representing more than 400% growth in production in the fifteen-year period from 2007 to 2021. Even more significant is the growth in corn exports over the same period, rising from 2.1 MMT to 25-30 MMT in recent years. That translates to more than 1200% growth in exports as an increasing portion of the corn produced in Ukraine has been exported over time. Although Ukraine produces less than 4% of world corn in recent years, the nation has remained among the world’s top four largest corn exporters contributing 13% to 17% to world trade.
Corn exports as a percent of production trended upward from 28% in 2007/08 to around 80% in the three years leading up to the Russian invasion. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, corn exports were stalled for a few months until the Black Sea Grain Deal allowed exports to resume. The 27 MMT exported in the 2021/22 marketing year represented 64% of production, falling short of the approximately 80% of production exported in recent years that may have been expected to continue in a non-war scenario. This resulted in 2021/22 ending stocks at 6.1 MMT, significantly higher than normal ending stocks range over the past one and half decades.
War zone complications reduced planted and harvested acres last year, resulting in a 36% decline from the 2021 pre-war record corn production to 27 MMT of corn in 2022. Despite the lower production level, Ukraine is on track to export 25.5 MMT of corn in the current 2022/23 marketing year, supported by higher beginning stocks carried over from the previous year. With that level of exports, Ukraine will end the 2022/23 marketing year with ending stocks at 1.4 MMT, in line with the nation’s normal stock levels.
Ukraine 2023 Production & Exports
In the May World Agriculture Supply & Demand Estimates report, USDA projects Ukraine will produce 22 MMT or corn, an 18.5% drop from last year’s already reduced level. The projection for exports is 16.5 MMT, or 75% of production.
Ukraine remains a war zone, making it difficult to predict 2023 production. Given the cost of production compared to other crops and continued war related challenges, corn production is expected to be lower as USDA projections indicate. Even in a best-case scenario, it’s unlikely production could exceed 2022 production of 27 MMT, so that could be considered the maximum end of a possible production range for 2023. At 75% of production, exports would be 20.3 MMT in the maximum scenario.
On the other hand, a recent survey of 3,000 farmers in Ukraine indicates farmers may only plant half of the corn acres planted in 2022. If production were also half of last year at 13.5 MMT, exports at 75% of production would be 10.1 MMT. This likely represents a minimum scenario.
While exports near USDA’s mid-range estimate for Ukraine corn exports is most likely, the range between the maximum and minimum scenarios represents a possible fluctuation equivalent to more than 5% of total world corn exports.
Ramifications for U.S. Farmers
A wide range of possible corn production levels in Ukraine translates to a wide range of possible export levels for the nation. Pair that with the unknown fate of the Black Sea Grain Deal, and there is a lot of uncertainty in the world market for corn in the 2023/24 marketing year. As U.S. corn exports fall behind the pace of recent years in an increasingly competitive global market, U.S. farmers may be expected to fill the void left by the ongoing war in Ukraine.